James Alfred Wight was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct. 3, 1916. Raised in Glasgow, Wight attended the Glasgow Veterinary College, from which he graduated in 1938. A year later he moved to Yorkshire, England, and joined the veterinary practice of two brothers, Donald and Brian Sinclair, who ministered mainly to farm animals in and around the village of Thirsk (fictionalized as Darrowby). In 1941 Wight married Joan Danbury, with whom he had two children. From 1943 to 1945 Wight served in the Royal Air Force (RAF).

At the age of 50 Wight began collecting on paper the personal anecdotes with which he had long amused his family and friends. With wit, poignancy, and a deep understanding of the history, landscape, people, and animals of Yorkshire, Wight's alter ego, James Herriot, described the operation of a small, rural veterinary practice during the years just before and after World War II. As a young veterinarian, Herriot joins the practice of Siegfried Farnon, a mercurial and winsome veterinarian, whose character was based on Wight's partner, Donald Sinclair. Scampish Tristan Farnon, crusty local farmers, and Mrs. Pumphrey and her spoiled Pekingese Tricky Woo are among other dexterously drawn characters within the series. His first book, ‘If Only They Could Talk', was published in 1970; ‘It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet' followed in 1972. A United States publisher collected the first two books as ‘All Creatures Great and Small' in 1972. The edition quickly became a best-seller. Other books in the series were ‘All Things Bright and Beautiful' (1974), in which Herriot marries Helen Alderson, ‘All Things Wise and Wonderful' (1977), which tells of Herriot's induction into the RAF at the outset of World War II, and ‘The Lord God Made Them All' (1981), which takes place after the war. The veterinary practice is expanded in the last book of the series, entitled ‘Every Living Thing' (1992), which introduces two veterinarian assistants—talented John Crooks and eccentric Callum Buchanan. Other works included several children's stories and ‘James Herriot's Yorkshire' (1979), in which the author lovingly portrays the rough beauty of the Yorkshire countryside.

Long after his books had brought him fame and wealth, Wight continued his work as a veterinarian in Yorkshire. He retired in the late 1980s and turned the practice over to his son. Herriot's novels were adapted for two films and a long-running series broadcast on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and on American television. All Creatures Great and Small was televised on the BBC from the late 1970s to 1990. Wight was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1979. Wight died on Feb. 23, 1995, in the village Thirlby, near Thirsk. In honor of Wight's contributions to literature and the veterinary profession, the James Herriot Library at the Glasgow Veterinary University opened in 1995. A museum dedicated to Wight was scheduled to open in Thirsk in 1999. Biographies of Wight include ‘All Things Herriot' (1995), by Sanford Sternlicht, and ‘James Herriot: The Life and Times of a Country Vet' (1997), by Graham Lord.